Indian Judokas at Paralympics 2024: Classifications, Medal Chances & Schedule

Once a traditional Japanese sport, now a competitive Olympic sport, Judo has travelled far and wide to be played by people from various nations.

Men's para-judo made its debut at the Paralympics in 1988 in Seoul, with women's Para judo joining the programme later at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. The sport is governed by the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA).

Para judo is designed for judokas with vision impairments. Although the rules are identical to those in regular Olympic judo, there is one unique difference where para judokas must maintain a grip on their opponents' judogi (judo suit) throughout the entire bout.

Click here to know more about the rules of Para Judo

Japan, the country of origin for judo, dominate the charts, winning the most number of medals (32) in the history of the Paralympics, followed by China and Azerbaijan with 25 and 19 medals respectively.

The judo event at the Paralympics 2024 will take place at Champ de Mars Arena in Paris from September 5-7.

Classification of Para-Judo

Judo has two classifications at the Paralympics based on vision levels: J1 and J2.

J1: Athletes have limited vision, varying degrees of light perception or no light perception.

J2: Athletes have diminished clarity, quality, and extended or have a limited vision.

Indian Judo Squad at Paralympics 2024

India will be represented by two judokas at Paris Paralympics – Kapil Parmar in Men’s 60Kg J1 and Kokila Kaushiklate in Women’s 48Kg J2.

Both of them qualified for the Paralympics in Paris based on their IBSA Judo Rankings.

Medal Chances

Indian judokas are poised to make their Paralympic debut in Paris, with Kapil Parmar emerging as a strong medal contender in the Men’s 60kg J1 class.

Earlier this year, Parmar clinched the IBSA Judo Grand Prix Antalya 2024 in Turkey and currently holds the World No. 1 ranking in his category.

As he has been in fine form, he stands a great chance of clinching gold or securing a spot on the podium.

Schedule of Indian Judokas (Indian Standard Time)

September 5

1:30 PM: Men’s 60kg J1 Preliminary Rounds - Kapil Parmar

1:30 PM: Women’s 48kg J2 Preliminary Rounds - Kokila Kaushiklate

7:30 PM: Men’s 60kg J1 Final Block (If Qualified) - Kapil Parmar

7:30 PM: Women’s 48kg J2 Final Block (If Qualified) - Kokila Kaushiklat